Lessons from Divorcees

Working as a family law attorney, I have seen a lot of conflict and a lot of strife. Often, both of these are unnecessarily increased due to the emotional crucible that is divorce. However, I have also seen clients who have been absolutely willing to set aside the emotional aspect of the divorce to address the legal aspects of the case (these clients often get to the other side of the their divorce with a much higher satisfaction rate). Both of these groups however have a unique perspective to offer when it comes to marital advise.

Lindsay Maxfield’s news article, 5 Lessons Learned the Hard Way, outlines the research of Terri Orbuch’s the “Early Years of Marriage Project,” where Orbush tracked over 350 marriages from 1986. By 2012, nearly half had divorced. The majority of those divorced, married again. As Maxfield articulates however, “these participants’ most poignant insights all centered around love lost, not found.”.

The five most common and re-occuring themes are as follows:

• 1. Be more affectionate.

• 2. Talk more about money.

• 3. Forget about the past.

• 4. Let go of blame.

• 5. Communicate more openly.

Certainly, as a family law practitioner, I can see how application of all of these would help prevent divorce. While divorce is rarely an enjoyable event, the majority of these suggestions could also assist parties divorcing have an over all better experience through their proceedings.

Schmidt Law Firm Law Firm

136 East South Temple Street #1500

Salt Lake City, UT 84111

(801) 895-3113